The first trailer for “The Lincoln Lawyer” has arrived and while it looks like your pretty standard legal thriller we’re hoping the solid cast and the source material — it’s based on a book by reliable crime thriller writer Michael Connelly — will make this an above average effort.
The film stars Matthew McConaughey (who is not only surprisingly not topless, but actually wearing a suit) in the role of ace defense attorney Mickey Haller. As the trailer suggests he’s one of the best but he makes his coin defending some pretty lowlife scum. Enter Ryan Phillippe playing said scum, a man accused of rape and murder but as the trailer suggests, he might be entirely innocent. As we said, Connelly’s books are great fun (and a film centering on his other character, cop Harry Bosch deserves to be made), but they’re also quite pulpy which could make the transition to the screen difficult. However, with the likes of an awesomely mustachioed William H. Macy, Marisa Tomei and the always underrated Michael Pena rounding out the cast we’re hoping this one will make the big screen leap work (though to be honest, those cornball flashback sequences look troubling). As for the title, it’s because Haller doesn’t have an office, and works exclusively out of the backseat of his chauffeured Lincoln.
Directed by Brad Furman (“The Take“) the film will hit theaters on March 18, 2011. Check out the trailer after the jump: